“Murmurs”

Front page photo by Tonje Thilesen

Hundred Waters' second LP The Moon Rang Like a Bell is an immersive, cohesive work, meaning that its praise will likely come qualified: grower, subtle, "no singles". There aren't any explosive choruses, crazy, bust-your-shit-open beats or pyrotechnic vocal performances. Instead, there aresongs that instantly stand out and "Murmurs" is perhaps the most impressive of the lot.

In the context of The Moon, "Murmurs" is the entry point into the band's new environs, a transition from their sunlit and verdant debut into a more nocturnal, deep blue. Every organic sound has been altered in a way that feels unfamiliar to everyone except the people responsible for them: Nicole Miglis' vocals aren't harmonized so much as cloaked in gauzy, ghosted versions of herself, the drums are EQ'd to become hollowed out and unidentifiable and something close to what birdcall might sound like if you fed codeine to these poor creatures. And yet, while "Murmurs" is certainly insular, it's inviting as well, or we just could combine those two words and say "intimate." And that's really why "Murmurs" actually does work as a single, it's a three-and-a-half minute attempt to make The Moon's foremost concern, as expressed by Miglis, a reality: "I wish you could see what I see."